My Name is Brain Brian

Brian dreads entering sixth grade, knowing his learning experiences will be fraught with the confusion and frustration of years past. But on opening day, his teacher recognizes his problem--tipped off by the boy's reversing letters when writing his name--and conducts a battery of tests. Results indicate that, despite a keen intellect, Brian has dyslexia. A meeting with Brian's (heretofore unaware) parents leads to a support program at home and at school. Betancourt ( More Than Meets the Eye ) ``brings her own experience with dyslexia to Brian's story,'' though it seems unlikely that a child in a modern-day urban environment would reach sixth grade without having been diagnosed. (The boy's father and grandfather are similarly afflicted.) A superfluous subplot concerns the point system Brian and his friends devise for clowning in school; lengthy passages about Canada geese further slow the pace. Despite rather undistinguished writing, struggling students may relate to this protagonist's difficulties. Ages 8-12. (Mar.)